The Onco Life Podcast

Welcome to Onco Life Centre Podcast.

This episode walks through what actually happens during a biopsy, the different procedure types, and how a small tissue sample becomes a confirmed diagnosis.

You'll learn:
- Why a biopsy is usually the final step toward a diagnosis, not the first
- The difference between needle biopsies and interventional (image-guided) biopsies used for internal organs like the lung, liver, and pancreas
- When doctors choose a surgical or excisional biopsy instead
- What a bone marrow biopsy involves and why it's used for blood-related cancers
- Why the lab step after collection, not the biopsy procedure itself, is what actually confirms a diagnosis
- Common concerns people have, including pain, the (very rare) risk of spreading cancer cells, and overall safety
- What biopsy results reveal, and how they help guide treatment decisions

If you or someone you care about has an upcoming biopsy, this episode covers what to expect at every stage.

Blog Link: What Happens During a Cancer Biopsy and What to Expect

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Thank you for listening to The Onco Life Podcast, your trusted source for expert cancer information and patient-centered education.

Author: Dr. CHRISTINA NG VAN TZE

📍 Visit us at oncolifecentre.com
📞 Call: +60 3 2242 3260
📧 Book a consultation or ask a question — we're here to support your journey.

Welcome to Onco Life Centre Podcast.

This episode looks at ASCO's August 2026 guideline update on endocrine therapy for breast cancer, including when this treatment alone is enough and when doctors consider adding more.

You'll learn:
- Why ASCO updated its breast cancer treatment guidance in August 2026
- How doctors now estimate individual risk instead of relying on trial resemblance
- Why endocrine therapy remains the treatment foundation for hormone receptor-positive disease
- What the risk thresholds are for considering additional treatment
- How ovarian suppression works for premenopausal women
- Why extending treatment duration involves a trade-off with side effects
- What this update means for treatment duration going forward
- How doctors and patients weigh benefit against side effects together

This update reflects a broader shift in cancer care toward matching treatment intensity to each patient's actual risk, rather than following blanket rules.

Blog Link: ASCO Breast Cancer Guidance: When Is Hormone Therapy Enough?

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Thank you for listening to The Onco Life Podcast, your trusted source for expert cancer information and patient-centered education.

Author: Dr. CHRISTINA NG VAN TZE

📍 Visit us at oncolifecentre.com
📞 Call: +60 3 2242 3260
📧 Book a consultation or ask a question — we're here to support your journey.

Welcome to Onco Life Centre Podcast.

This episode explains why chronic hepatitis B carriers face a much higher risk of liver cancer, and walks through what regular screening for it actually looks like in practice.

You'll learn:
- Why chronic hepatitis B raises liver cancer risk by 15 to 20 times compared with people who are not infected
- Why liver cancer often causes no symptoms until it is already advanced
- What an abdominal ultrasound and an AFP blood test each check for, and why doctors combine them
- Who the World Health Organization recommends for six-monthly screening, including anyone with cirrhosis or a family history of liver cancer
- Why carriers without those risk factors are generally advised to start screening from age 40
- Why Malaysia currently has no national liver cancer screening programme, and what that means for carriers
- What a clear result can and cannot tell you, and why false positives are a normal part of surveillance
- Why catching liver cancer early, while a tumor is still small, keeps curative treatment options realistic

If you are a hepatitis B carrier, or care for someone who is, this episode covers what surveillance actually involves and why the six-month interval matters.

Blog Link: Liver Cancer Screening for Hepatitis B Carriers in Malaysia

Send us Fan Mail

Thank you for listening to The Onco Life Podcast, your trusted source for expert cancer information and patient-centered education.

Author: Dr. CHRISTINA NG VAN TZE

📍 Visit us at oncolifecentre.com
📞 Call: +60 3 2242 3260
📧 Book a consultation or ask a question — we're here to support your journey.

Welcome to Onco Life Centre Podcast.

This episode walks through what it means when a lung nodule turns up on a scan, why it's common, and what the follow-up process usually looks like.

You'll learn:
- Why a lung nodule is a common finding and does not automatically mean cancer
- The difference between a solid nodule and a ground-glass nodule
- What chest x-rays, CT scans, and PET scans each check for
- What makes a nodule more or less concerning, including size, shape, and growth over time
- Why active surveillance is often the first step for small, low-risk nodules
- How personal risk factors, like smoking history and age, change the recommended next steps
- The difference between a routine nodule finding and lung cancer screening
- What changes once a nodule is confirmed as early lung cancer

Whether you or someone you care about just had a nodule found, this episode covers what typically happens next and when it is worth a closer look.

Blog Link: A Lung Nodule Was Found on Your Scan: What Happens Next

Send us Fan Mail

Thank you for listening to The Onco Life Podcast, your trusted source for expert cancer information and patient-centered education.

Author: Dr. CHRISTINA NG VAN TZE

📍 Visit us at oncolifecentre.com
📞 Call: +60 3 2242 3260
📧 Book a consultation or ask a question — we're here to support your journey.

Welcome to Onco Life Centre Podcast.

This episode breaks down how cancer insurance actually works in Malaysia, from what a typical policy covers to the fine print that catches people off guard.

You'll learn:
- What cancer insurance typically covers, including hospital stays, surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy
- The difference between lump sum payouts and reimbursement based policies
- Why waiting periods, often around 60 days, can delay a claim
- How pre-existing conditions are commonly excluded from coverage
- What a lifetime limit means for your total payout over time
- How PIDM protects your eligible insurance benefits, separate from your policy's own terms
- The difference between a comprehensive cancer plan and a basic rider
- Two overlooked details worth asking your insurer about, oral cancer drug coverage and cancer genomics testing coverage

Whether you are comparing plans or trying to understand a policy you already have, this episode walks through the details that matter most.

Blog Link: Cancer Insurance in Malaysia: What's Covered and What's Not

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Thank you for listening to The Onco Life Podcast, your trusted source for expert cancer information and patient-centered education.

Author: Dr. CHRISTINA NG VAN TZE

📍 Visit us at oncolifecentre.com
📞 Call: +60 3 2242 3260
📧 Book a consultation or ask a question — we're here to support your journey.

Welcome to Onco Life Centre Podcast.

This episode looks at ASCO's August 2026 guideline update for HER2-positive gastric cancer, including what changed for first-line treatment and why biomarker testing now happens earlier.

You'll learn:
- Why ASCO updated its HER2-positive gastric cancer guideline in August 2026
- What the four newly recommended biomarker tests are
- How new trial results changed first-line treatment options
- What second-line options exist if first-line treatment stops working
- Why the timing of biomarker testing matters for patients
- Roughly what percentage of stomach cancers are HER2-positive
- What question patients should ask their care team about biomarker testing
- How often ASCO reviews this guideline going forward

This update reflects one of the more significant shifts in gastric cancer care in recent years, and it gives both patients and care teams a clearer path forward.

Blog Link: HER2-Positive Stomach Cancer: What ASCO Now Recommends

Send us Fan Mail

Thank you for listening to The Onco Life Podcast, your trusted source for expert cancer information and patient-centered education.

Author: Dr. CHRISTINA NG VAN TZE

📍 Visit us at oncolifecentre.com
📞 Call: +60 3 2242 3260
📧 Book a consultation or ask a question — we're here to support your journey.

This episode breaks down who faces the highest risk of nasopharyngeal cancer in Malaysia, and why the country sees rates far higher than most of the world.

You'll learn:
- Why nasopharyngeal cancer risk varies so sharply by ethnicity in Malaysia
- Why Chinese Malaysians and indigenous communities in Sarawak and Sabah face some of the highest rates in the world
- How Epstein-Barr virus infection connects to the most common local subtype
- Which diet, lifestyle, and occupational factors raise risk, including salt-preserved foods and wood dust exposure
- How age, gender, and family history shape individual risk
- Why nearly half of Malaysian cases are diagnosed at an advanced stage
- What symptoms are worth acting on if you have several of these risk factors

Understanding your own risk factors can genuinely change how early this cancer gets caught. For the full breakdown, read the article linked below.

Blog Link: Who Is at Risk of Nasopharyngeal Cancer in Malaysia

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Thank you for listening to The Onco Life Podcast, your trusted source for expert cancer information and patient-centered education.

Author: Dr. CHRISTINA NG VAN TZE

📍 Visit us at oncolifecentre.com
📞 Call: +60 3 2242 3260
📧 Book a consultation or ask a question — we're here to support your journey.

This episode breaks down what the numbers actually mean when it comes to pancreatic cancer, and why stage at diagnosis makes such a dramatic difference.

You'll learn:
- How large population databases like SEER calculate a 5-year relative survival rate
- What the current numbers are for localized, regional, and distant pancreatic cancer
- Why the combined survival figure sits so much lower than the localized one
- What the CA 19-9 tumor marker is and how doctors use it
- How TNM staging, stage I through stage IV, relates to the SEER categories
- Why age, overall health, and treatment response shape outlook beyond stage
- Why early detection makes such a dramatic difference in outlook

These are population statistics, not a personal prediction. Only your own oncologist can put these numbers in context for your situation. For the full breakdown, read the article linked below.

Blog Link: Pancreatic Cancer Survival Rates: What the Numbers Mean by Stage

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Thank you for listening to The Onco Life Podcast, your trusted source for expert cancer information and patient-centered education.

Author: Dr. CHRISTINA NG VAN TZE

📍 Visit us at oncolifecentre.com
📞 Call: +60 3 2242 3260
📧 Book a consultation or ask a question — we're here to support your journey.

This episode looks at what the numbers really mean when it comes to nasopharyngeal cancer survival, and what shapes outlook beyond stage alone.

You'll learn:
- How large population databases like SEER calculate a 5-year relative survival rate
- What the current survival rates are for localized, regional, and distant nasopharyngeal cancer
- Why EBV DNA levels in the blood can influence prognosis
- How the WHO classifies nasopharyngeal cancer subtypes, and why that matters
- How TNM staging, stage I through stage IV, relates to the SEER categories
- Why treatment delays and interruptions during radiation can worsen outcomes
- Why early detection makes such a large difference in outlook

These are population statistics, not a personal prediction. Only your own oncologist can put these numbers in context for your situation. For the full breakdown, read the article linked below.

Blog Link: Nasopharyngeal Cancer Survival Rates and Outlook by Stage

Send us Fan Mail

Thank you for listening to The Onco Life Podcast, your trusted source for expert cancer information and patient-centered education.

Author: Dr. CHRISTINA NG VAN TZE

📍 Visit us at oncolifecentre.com
📞 Call: +60 3 2242 3260
📧 Book a consultation or ask a question — we're here to support your journey.

This episode breaks down two of the most common non-small cell lung cancer subtypes, adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma, and explains why getting the subtype right shapes the entire treatment plan.

You'll learn:
- Why adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma are subtypes of NSCLC, not competing diagnoses
- Where each subtype typically starts in the lung and how they relate to smoking history
- Why targeted therapy is more often an option for adenocarcinoma than for squamous cell carcinoma
- How doctors confirm the subtype through biopsy, biomarker testing, and imaging
- What large cell carcinoma and combined small cell carcinoma are, and how they differ from the two main subtypes
- Why the subtype, not just the stage, shapes which treatments are realistic options
- What biomarker testing checks for and why it matters for treatment planning

Neither subtype is inherently more serious than the other. Getting an accurate diagnosis is what determines the right treatment path. For the full breakdown, read the article linked below.

Blog Link: Adenocarcinoma vs Squamous NSCLC: How the Subtypes Differ

Send us Fan Mail

Thank you for listening to The Onco Life Podcast, your trusted source for expert cancer information and patient-centered education.

Author: Dr. CHRISTINA NG VAN TZE

📍 Visit us at oncolifecentre.com
📞 Call: +60 3 2242 3260
📧 Book a consultation or ask a question — we're here to support your journey.